Social response behaviors reveal the enhancement and loss of drought resilience: Example of Sichuan, China in the Qing Dynasty

Abstract

Revealing the dynamics of resilience enhancement and loss and their key influencing factors, is of significant importance for disaster risk management. The Qing Dynasty Sichuan serves as a good example to examine this dynamic process by the complete and rapid social development, and it is both a critical agricultural area and a major drought-prone area in China. Through a process-oriented analytical perspective, this study characterizes changes in social response patterns to droughts while comparing the consequences of social impacts in the Qing Dynasty Sichuan by methods of textual and comparing analysis, and identified key changes in resilience. The data came from 565 historical documents. Following conclusions are drawn: 1) Sichuan in 1720 s saw a response model shifted from a personal consumption-driven dominant to a strategic ‘relief’ dominant. At the same time, although the severity of famine caused by drought increased, social instability decreased significantly, and social resilience to drought increased. 2) Loss of resilience occurred in 1820 s with relief kept being dominant but the severity of famine and social unrest caused by droughts increasing significant. 3) The participation of local governments and the gentry class in the redistribution of social resources is associated with lower sensitivity to drought and social stability; however, when the food security threshold is breached, the relief become ineffective, social instability increases, and regional social resilience declines. Rather than merely replicating history, the conclusion emphasizes learning from historical experiences to better enhance drought resilience and avoid critical risks.